ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Accumulate

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /əˈkjuːmjʊˌleɪt/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Accumulate is a verb meaning (intransitive) To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.

Meaning

(intransitive) To gradually grow or increase in quantity or number.

More Meanings

  1. (education, dated) To take a higher degree at the same time with a lower degree, or at a shorter interval than usual.
  2. (poetic, rare) Collected; accumulated.
  3. (transitive) To heap up in a mass; to pile up; to collect or bring together (either literally or figuratively), often gradually and without active intent.

Example Sentences

He wishes to accumulate a sum of money.
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, / Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.
With her company going bankrupt, her divorce, and a gambling habit, debts started to accumulate so she had to sell her house.

Word Forms

Synonyms for accumulate

Depending on context, synonyms include accrue, amound, gather, garner, get up, amass.

Antonyms for accumulate

Common opposites include decline, decumulate, lose.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include amass, pile up, cumulate, hoard, collect, compile.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.